dick and c



a. H. DICK AND 0. r. WOLTERS.

HEAT RESISTING CABINET.

APPLICATION min ms. 27. ms.

Patented June 1, 1920.

2 SHEE] 5-SHEET 1.

INVENTORS) ATTORNEY R. H. DICK AND C. F. WOLTERS.

' Patented June 1, 1920.

2 $H[E]SSHEET 2- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RALPH H. DICK AND CARL F. WOLTERS, OF MARIETTA, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE SAFE- OABINET COMPANY, OF MARIETTA, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

HEAT-RESISTING CABINET.

Patented June 1, 1920.

Application filed February 27, 1918. Serial No. 219,526.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RALPH H. Dion and CARL F. WoL'rEns, both citizens of the United States, and residents of Marietta, Washington county, Ohio, have invented a new and useful Im rovement in Heat -Resisting Cabinets, 0 which the following is a specification. 3

Our invention relates to cabinets or light weight safes intended for use as containers for valuable papers, documents, records or other-articles, and our object has been to devise a construction which would combine with absence of great weight, elements to resist the entrance of heat to the interior, a strength and rigidity of construction which will prevent buckling under high temperatures or injury to the cabinet in the event of a fall or rough handlin of any kind, together with marked simp icity and economy in the methods of construction employed.

In the man known forms of heavy iron safes disclose in the art, there are examples in which between a thick outerwall and a lighter inner wall, a plastic mass of material containing enough water or other liquid to permit of a free flow, has been poured for the purpose of providing an element to delay the entrance of heat to the interior of the safe and also to permit of the production of vapor or steam under hi h temperatures to moisten the contents an prevent their de-. struction by the heat. To this construction there are several objections. Ihe heavy iron walls necessarily are of excessive weight which is always an objection for many reasons, and in addition are excellent conductors of heat.

The free Water in the lastic filler poured into the space between e heav outer and lighter inner walls is not boun or permanently fixed in the mass and therefore is certain to cause corrosion of the walls. It also dries out with age leaving cracks in the filler.

It is obvious that when excessive heat reaches a heav crack t at the heat wi iron wall in roximity to such a ll very quickly reach the interior of the safe. It is also impossible of water in such a filler. To make such a mass pourablethere is an excess re uired beyond that required to make it a goo heat insulator, but the conditions as to temperature and atmospheric moisture in the place where such a safe is located have a definite effect on the filling which can not be ascertained without tearing down the safe.

As is well known in the trade and to the public, this excess of moisture is also a menace when such a safe is new, for the ma son that if the doors are kept closed for. any length of time, sweatingas it is termed wil occur and the moisture will then pass to the interior of the safe causing the contents to become mildewed or otherwise damaged.

Another advantage arising out of forming the heat insulating linin outside of the casing walls, lies in the act, that after the molded lining is. removed from the mold, it

can be ins ected, and if there are any air holes or de ects of any kind, caused by lum s in the mixture or the presence of any undlssolved substances, they may be remedied before the lining is positioned in the casing.

In our invention herewith, these objections are overcome, as the heat insulation extends practically from the point where the excessive heat is located to the interior of the cabinet, and in addition contains only a predetermined amount of chemically bound water which remains bound until it is needed, when it is released by the high temperature.

Our present invention is superior to the 'doublewalled sheet metal cabinets in which toj'be certain at any time as to the percentage the greatestcare to avoid any crack or opening of any kind in the insulation throu h which heat could pass to the interior. f necessity some of these insulating materials are more or less brittle and therefore edges or corners are liable to be chipped off in handling or fitting the insulation or in shaping it to fill in the corners and bends of the sheet metal walls. There is frequently much time and labor involved also in beveling, shaping and fitting the said insulation. t is o vious that a weak spot will exist whenever any kind of an opening or break occurs in the insulating material.

A greater structural strength and rigidity of construction is also found in this invention because of the reinforcement we provide in the cast insulation of our structure.

In the drawings herewith Figure 1 is a perspective view of the molded heat insulation lining of the structure.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the cabinet without doors.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the u )per part of the cabinet.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the lower part of the cabinet.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 10 indicates the sheet metal outer walls of the structure, 1111 being the side walls, 12 the back wall, 13 the top wall and 14 the bottom wall. These may be made in the usual manner and in any desired form or size and preferably are constructed to form the top, bottom and side walls, with the back wall omitted to permit of the positioning of the cast insulation 15, after which the back wall may be laced in position and secured in any desired way, such as welded for instance. As is obvious any one of the walls could be omitted for this purpose and the cast insulation could be positioned through the openin The heat insulating lining 15, may be made of any material which can be mixed with water so that it can be molded to the desired form. Among other substances we have found practical a mixture of gypsum and a small proportion of saw dust or other suitable material to give a needed elasticity and decrease the frangibility of the structure.

This mixture is poured into a mold constructed to follow precisely the form of the inner sides of the outer steel walls. When it has set, the molded insulation lining is removed from the mold. On account of the quantity of water used to make a mixture which could be poured into the mold this cast lining now contains a su er uous amount of free moisture which i it were allowed to remain might cause corrosion of the metal outside walls, and in addition an unnecessary weight is caused thereby. The

cast therefore is placed in a drying room in which a fixed temperature is maintained and with the aid of a blower apparatus, the free water is abstracted and only the chemically bound water is retained. This is suflicient when the completed cabinet is sub-i jected to high temperatures, to escape in the form of a vapor or steam into the interior of the cabinet where it will moisten the contents and aid in preserving them.

To reinforce the cast lining and give it a strength that. will prevent its breaking down under reat heat, we insert in the mold before t e mixture is poured, a sheet of mesh wire 16 which serves to hold the casting to ether at all times. In our tests and experlments we have found that even when a very high temperature has calcined the material to almost a friable point, this reinforcement holds the casting in an integral unit.

In the corners of the cabinet and along the edges of the corners, where the greatest amount of heat is apt to make its Way to the interior we form in the casting an increased thickness of the material as indicated at 17.

After the casting has been dried to the pre-determined point, the sheet metal casin is slipped on over the casting, the we omitted to permit of the 'positionin is secured in place and the front door or oors are swung on the hinges.

If desired, inner walls or linings may be ut in but this is optional asthe castin itself has a fine finish and could be painte or stained and grooved to receive shelves or other interior fittings.

We claim 1. A fire-heat resisting document-preserving cabinet or safe .comprisin an inner independent integral body inclu ing fixed walls composed of a set composition containin chemically bound water or moisture, an an outer shell of sheet metal inclosin said integral body and independent thereo said body being practicall devoid, through artificial elimlnation, of fi-ee water and adapted under high temperature as in case of fire to release said chemically bound water in the form of vapor, said outer shell being operative in such case to prevent the exterior escape of said released vapor and said structure being adapted to permit the escape to the interior from said walls of such released vapor into contact with the contents of the cabinet.

2. A fire-heat resisting document-preserving cabinet or safe comprising an outer shell of sheet metal, an inner integral body structurall independent of said outer shell and inclu ing fixed side, top, bottom and back walls, said body being composed of a set composition containin chemicall bound water or moisture and sing practically d void, through artificial elimination, of free of such released vapor into contact with the water and ada ted under high temperature contents of the cabinet.

as in case of re to release said chemicall bound water in the form of vapor, said outez' 6 shell being operative in suchcase to revent the exterior escape of said vapor and said structure being adapted to rmit S. B. Wmomron,

the escape to the interior from sai walls, W. V. DICK. 

